Well the worst case scenario may have happened....

[miraclemet]

A few months ago my wife and I (and our daughter) moved from the US to Beligum. My wife had a job offer and they were paying for the relocation. Everyone did a good job and once we finally found a permanant home here in Belgium we had our "stuff" delivered (up untill that point we had lived off, and out of our 7-8 suitcases we brought).

 

They delivered our stuff about a month ago and I've spent the last 4 weeks unpacking. I wasnt there the whole time when the packing was done, and I wasnt there the whole time that things were being delivered but I've come to the realization that...

 

My OA portfolio is nowhere to be found.

 

 

I've gone through every box, and my only hope at this point is that it's somewhere in the piles of discarded boxes (which I'll be going through before putting them out on the curb) or they are back in some storage container.

 

We've alerted the moving company, who are (assumedly) doing their own search.

 

All of the moved items were insured, so at some point I'll get money to "replace" the art... but how do I replace all these one of a kind things?

 

Most of my OA was Green Lantern art from the 80s. The Joe Staton pages can be "replaced" with comparable pages maybe, but I was working on putting together my first issue of GL (#159), and had bought 4 of the 22 pages. Now they're gone. There's no replacing them, and that means I'll never put the whole book together. Other pages were from memorable Tales of the Green Lantern Corps stories from my childhood... gone.

 

That page from the last issue of Bryan Q Miller's Batgirl? From the Black Mercy dream pages... it's gone, never coming back...

 

That 1 page gag from Cable & Deadpool where Deadpool gets teleported to the F4s breakfast

table? It required no text to get across the humor of the scene. Gone.

 

I'm so bummed right now not for losing the pages, but more for knowing there's no way to really replace them...

 

I have no idea what to do with the insurance money when it comes in...

 

Oh and Im going to have to try and convince the insurance company (good luck on that one) that they are on the hook not just for the value, but the import costs, which hover around 35-50% of the value of the item being imported (So that $400 OA page, comes with a $150 import bill from the gov't)

 

sooooooooooooo bummed.

 

 

[miraclemet]

On the upside the 2 short boxes of comics made it fine. Including some one of a kind pedigree books... that would have equally broken my heart to lose (again due to their uniqueness just like the OA)

[miraclemet]

You can click on my CAF link in my Sig to see everything that's gone. All in all its about 20 pages of OA and a few sketches.

[theflashunc]

I had the same paranoid worries when we just moved cross country. To the point where I kept the OA with us in the car after several spirited, um, "discussions" with The Boss. She wanted it to go in the crate since space in the car was at a premium.

 

But you've nailed it. Its not about the monetary loss necessarily -- though certainly that plays a role. Its that essence that what you've got is irreplaceable. You can't just go down to the OA store and buy another copy of the page to replace it.

 

Here's hoping it turns up.

[Pete Marino]

Ugh, sorry to hear about your loss of art. I hope they show up!

[Silver Surfer]

Brutal. Hopefully they turn up.

[miraclemet]

Also if anyone's dealt with this scenario in the past and has any advise (in dealing with the insurance company) I'm all ears.

 

I think it should be a clean deal via the moving company since there was declared value from the start, but I know insurance companies are in the business of NOT paying out, so Im expecting some pushback.

[pinupcartoonguy]

Any chance you "hid" it somewhere (in a suitcase) or something, and just don't remember? More times than not, something I thought was lost pops up, and I go, "Oh, yeah, now I remember putting it there."

[miraclemet]

Any chance you "hid" it somewhere (in a suitcase) or something, and just don't remember? More times than not, something I thought was lost pops up, and I go, "Oh, yeah, now I remember putting it there."

 

wait, did my wife sign up for an account here?

 

(kidding, but she LITERALLY said the exact same thing).

 

yeah I've gone through everything that it could have been put in (including all of the suitcases, large boxes, tupperware boxes, etc...

 

 

[Bronty]

 

I hope you find them soon

[Garf]

 

Sorry to hear that. I would have literally gone through everything tearing my hair out (like packed away Christmas decorations and other stuff that normally wouldn't be unpacked after a move), I can only imagine. If I ever had to start over I would probably still try and grab a few pieces again that remind me of my childhood.... then keep my eye out for whatever else is around the corner.

[eewwnuk]

that sucks. i moved a few years ago but moved my statues, comics and comic art on my own.

 

the movers took everything else. they managed to break the tv in the process. my experience with their insurance was that it was pretty painless. they sent us a check in a week or two for more than the tv was worth so we were able to upgrade.

 

good luck with this. hopefully you get a good resolution.

 

you should make sure you cover your bases with your collectibles insurance just in case.

[Speedy-D]

Brutal. Hopefully they turn up.

Yeah man, that's fully brutal. I got my fingers crossed for you.

 

Keep us posted.

[Californication]

What a terrible event.

I'm not sure if it helps in any small way, but as regards import taxes, there is no duty on original art into Belgium but there is a charge of 6% VAT. However if you don't actually import the declared goods ie they were lost, never arrived, you should be able to receive refund on that VAT.

 

Here in the UK we are 0% and 5% VAT

 

The import duty rate for importing Fine art into Belgium is 0% , the import VAT is 6%, when classified under Antiques, Art & Collectibles → Artwork → Original Art Work | paintings & drawings with HS commodity code 9701.10.0000

[miraclemet]

What a terrible event.

I'm not sure if it helps in any small way, but as regards import taxes, there is no duty on original art into Belgium but there is a charge of 6% VAT. However if you don't actually import the declared goods ie they were lost, never arrived, you should be able to receive refund on that VAT.

 

Here in the UK we are 0% and 5% VAT

 

The import duty rate for importing Fine art into Belgium is 0% , the import VAT is 6%, when classified under Antiques, Art & Collectibles → Artwork → Original Art Work | paintings & drawings with HS commodity code 9701.10.0000

 

thanks for that bit of info, so glad to hear that art doesnt suffer the same VAT and import duties that comic books do!

 

And thats a good point. The moving company paid the VAT to import the OA, if it never made it they should get it refunded, and that should go my way to cover the VAT on importing new OA.

 

Oh and someone else mentioned moving their own stuff.. I did the same thing from Michigan to to Georgia... 6 long boxes and my OA in the little Prius... to bad I couldnt do that this time!

[alxjhnsn]

I am so sorry. No advice though.

[AKA Rick]

This is an important lesson in that in any event where you have valuables, it's in your own best interest to protect your own assets and "hope for the best, but prepare for the worst."

 

Since your art portfolios aren't that large, much like jewelry, small collectibles (cards, coins, stamps, etc.) and small electronics (cell phone, tablet, etc.) it's always best to hand carry those as you travel and move.

 

So, if you're flying... don't check those into your baggage, bring 'em as a carry on.

 

If you're moving... don't box up everything... separate a few items and just move them personally, even if it takes a larger suitcase to tote around.

 

It may seem like a lot of trouble and hassle, but if your valuables are valued to you, then it's in your own best interest to take care of them.

 

Between the neglectful TSA and sometimes underpaid airline baggage handlers to the moving companies, there's high motivation and near zero accountability for them to first off, handle your property with care (so, for all you know it's been mishandled and not stolen, but lost) and secondly, it's easy to commit theft. Even if a moving company is bonded and the insurance covers the company, many employees who work for the company will see that as a near victimless crime, since they get the goods, you get the value, and the company isn't on the hook (not acknowledging the damage to reputation, red tape, and impact on future insurance rates).

 

The good thing about original art is it is one of a kind, so you should hopefully have images of your pages, and post them up on the message boards and sites like CAF as "missing: lost or stolen" so if they do enter the marketplace, and sales are attempted you can trace 'em.

 

 

 

 

[ashrael]

Hopefully they turn up!

 

I know that after I moved last year I was looking for my shipping scale for months and literally went through every box in my house multiple times and couldn't find it. A week after I purchased a new one I found that it had been placed inside of a paper shredder that we never bothered to use. You know never know when it may show up.

 

But to be safe you will want to post as many scans as you can so that people can be on the lookout. I am always looking for nice GL pages so I would probably notice them.

[miraclemet]

Well the art has not surfaced, but on a good point I heard back from the movers that insurance will be paying out 100% of my quoted value of the art, which is great.

 

It only took a week for insurance to come back with a response, and I think all of the documentation helped.

 

For the 12 pieces I provided purchase info (which in some cases was just email correspondences with the dealer), and while I was asked to list purchase price, I also listed current value, and they didnt balk at any of it (some of it I got so cheap years ago I wasnt sure they'd buy its increase in value). I also provided comps on the art that had big differences in purchase price vs current value, which I think helped.

 

So it's not the perfect ending (cause original art is irreplaceable) , but at least I can start rebuilding the collection.

 

I'm going to update my CAF with MISSING stamps on all of my art in case they ever pop up...

[Pete Marino]

Well the art has not surfaced, but on a good point I heard back from the movers that insurance will be paying out 100% of my quoted value of the art, which is great.

 

It only took a week for insurance to come back with a response, and I think all of the documentation helped.

 

For the 12 pieces I provided purchase info (which in some cases was just email correspondences with the dealer), and while I was asked to list purchase price, I also listed current value, and they didnt balk at any of it (some of it I got so cheap years ago I wasnt sure they'd buy its increase in value). I also provided comps on the art that had big differences in purchase price vs current value, which I think helped.

 

So it's not the perfect ending (cause original art is irreplaceable) , but at least I can start rebuilding the collection.

 

I'm going to update my CAF with MISSING stamps on all of my art in case they ever pop up...

 

I'm so sorry about losing your collection.

 

I am glad you got the $$, but like you said, it was one of a kind.

 

Best of luck in your rebuilding efforts!

 

As a curious aside, you now have a lump sum, do you have a strategy on how to rebuild? are you going to go about it differently than the 1st time around?